Gunshots fired at students in Venezuela
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Gunshots ring out as student protesters run from the bullets in Venezuela. Courtesy Youtube/Daniel Ramirez

news.com.au

14 Feb 2014

News

VENEZUELAN security forces backed by water tanks and tear gas have dispersed anti-government demonstrators who had blocked Caracas’ main highway.

About 500 student protesters who had choked off traffic for several hours responded by throwing stones and burning rubbish.

There were no immediate reports of serious injuries as protesters regrouped at a nearby plaza.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rebuked the students in a televised address and says he won’t tolerate any more disruptions on the country’s roadways.

The clash came on the third day of protests after a large anti-government rally left three dead and dozens more wounded on Wednesday.

Student groups have vowed to stay on the streets until authorities release those remaining in custody.

Meanwhile, Twitter says Venezuela has blocked images on the social media tool.

People power ... students hold a Venezuelan national flag as they protest against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro along a main highway in Caracas.

Twitter is offering a workaround for users who want to get tweets via text message on their mobile phones.

Company spokesman Nu Wexler said on Friday via email that “Twitter images are currently blocked in Venezuela’’.

Venezuela’s main telecommunications company, CANTV, is government-run and handles the overwhelming majority of internet traffic.

Users said the blockage had ended by Friday and was most intense on Thursday, a day after two students were killed by gunfire during protests.

Video and still images that circulated via Twitter after the killings purported to show police and pro-government activists shooting at protesters. The images’ authenticity could not be confirmed.

Media coverage of the protests was limited, as Venezuela’s government dominates the country’s airwaves.

Speaking up ... students protest after three people died and dozens were injured in violence at anti-government protests.

Defiant students hit the streets of the Venezuelan capital to protest against the leftist government, in the biggest challenge to President Nicolas Maduro since he took over from the late Hugo Chavez last year.

The United States said it was “troubled’’ and “concerned’’ after rival demonstrations on Wednesday turned deadly, prompting Mr Maduro to order the arrest of a senior Opposition figure and declare that he would not be overthrown in a coup.

But students demonstrated in Caracas for a second day on Thursday, shouting: “Who are we? Students! What do we want? Freedom!’’

Students, backed up by the Opposition, are ratcheting up the pressure on Mr Maduro, calling for immediate action on rampant crime, inflation and shortages of basic goods.

His government urged people to demonstrate in “anti-fascism’’ rallies, but only a handful of supporters turned up.

Henrique Capriles, who ran against Mr Maduro in last year’s elections, said a coup was out of the question.

Tears ... students weep during a vigil to mourn two students killed during yesterday's violent clashes, in Caracas, Venezuela.

“Expressing yourself is not a coup d’etat,’’ he said.

“A civilian doesn’t commit a coup.

“We will channel discontent, but I will not lie to you, the conditions are not right for the departure of the government,’’ he told reporters in condemning Wednesday’s clashes between anti- and pro-government protesters.

A pro-government demonstrator and two student opposition protesters died in the unrest, which led to a security crackdown in cities across a country where the economy has been battered by inflation of more than 50 per cent a year.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Venezuelan authorities to “promptly and impartially’’ investigate the violence, while the US State Department said: “We are troubled by the violence associated with the February 12 protests.

“We are deeply concerned about reports that the Venezuelan government has recently detained scores of anti-government protesters, and of a warrant being issued for the arrest of opposition leader and Voluntad Popular founder, Leopoldo Lopez.

“We urge all parties to avoid violence.’’

Jose Miguel Vivanco, HRW’s Americas director, said of Wednesday’s clashes: “What Venezuela urgently needs is for these killings to be investigated and the killers brought to justice, no matter their political affiliation.’’

The government ordered the arrest of Lopez, 42, according to El Universal newspaper, which published a photo showing the arrest warrant.

Mr Lopez, a former mayor of one of Caracas’s five municipalities and now a prominent opposition figure, is accused of homicide and conspiracy.

At least 80 people were detained in Wednesday’s protests, including a photographer and reporter covering the demonstration, the journalists’ union said.

And Colombian news channel NTN24, which had been featuring the protests in depth, was abruptly pulled off the air.

Venezuela — with an institutionally socialist government dependent on oil revenues in a state-led system — sits atop the world’s largest proven reserves of crude.

Yet its economy has gone from bad to worse amid shortages of hard currency, while dwindling supplies of consumer goods have frustrated even some government supporters.

The government blames “bourgeois’’ local business interests for trying to profit from its largely low- and middle-income political base. It has engaged in privatisation and unpopular currency controls.

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